Roatan Wedding?

[Inspector#2]

So has anyone been married in the West End or at Infinity Bay? I have some questions about EVERYTHING so please PM me so I can pick your brain.

Also anyone who will be there between the 16th and 20th of June I need a witness or two!

Thanks

 

[RTBDiver]

Save yourselves some hassles and time, do it legal at home and then celebrate on the Island.

 

[Doc]

That would be about the best advice right there.

I did a search here, but couldn't find any of the previous threads.

 

[Chaseh]

That's why we got married in St. Thomas. Tropical but an American territory and no issues.

 

[Mark Derail]

( Then there's chaps like me - that the Catholic church doesn't recognize my legal divorce. )
​

I was surprised at the total lack of Catholic churches in Grand Cayman - hundreds of Anglican offshoots. I think I saw one in downtown Georgetown.

I'm sure that if you marry legally where you are, at City Hall, bring proof with you, and use a wedding planner just to do a ceremony on the beach with a pastor, you'd be fine. It's the ceremony, in front of family & friends, that counts! Not the sharing of the Eucharist. Well, in my POV, that is.

Depends on what you want / need. A religious ceremony or just a ceremony?

If you marry religious (with legal paperwork done by a Catholic priest) you actually need a written permission from your local parish first. You can do this through your local priest who will prepare the paperwork in triplicate (church, you, diocese).
The priest in the other country will sign the paperwork that is either mailed back (and faxed) to your parish or you bring with you back to your parish.

All I know is that Anglican adhere by legal government first, canon law second. Catholics is the other way around.

So I can get married by the Anglican church in my country/parish & elsewhere. Even so, getting the paperwork done at City Hall beforehand is preferable, an Anglican pastor won't mind either way.
​

Reason for long post? I know of some scenarios - legal ones - where the marriage was NOT legal back in Canada. Should something have happened to either spouse, the other would not have been compensated / considered.

I know of one case of a Caribbean marriage (Jamaica or DR - from memory) where the man passed away shortly after - and she did not get half of his inheritance. Both hadn't done a testament to seal the deal, thinking they were legally married.

The story of the American traveling salesman marrying more than one woman by going South on vacation...because they don't check. Well, I can confirm, Catholic priests will check up on you, no matter the country.
​

SO! Getting married on US soil *will be* easier, religious or otherwise. Maui is beautiful, so is St-Thomas (Virgin Islands) or the Florida Keys.

 

[flareside]

I was surprised at the total lack of Catholic churches in Grand Cayman...

In a former British colony... not surprising at all.

( Then there's chaps like me - that the Catholic church doesn't recognize my legal divorce. )​

Which all goes back to why you don't find a lot of Catholic churches in many former British colonies. (Not that I'm saying that Canada wasn't one but they are somewhat an anomoly.)


Wherever you decide to get married, be sure and leave the bride's maiden name on all paperwork, tickets, reservations, etc. until you get back. Airlines and US customs are very touchy about mismatches on documentation.

 

[Doc]

In a former British colony... not surprising at all. Which all goes back to why you don't find a lot of Catholic churches in many former British colonies. (Not that I'm saying that Canada wasn't one but they are somewhat an anomoly.)

The ones that still speak a form of French, especially so. (note where that Prius is parked, oui?)

And talk about anamonopolies ! Most of the landholders on the Bay Islands are still impatiently awaiting the return of the British Royal Navy and Pince Floppyears to come and reclaim this former outpost in the name of the Queen, the Church and all that is good and holy~ the English language being one of those.

]Wherever you decide to get married, be sure and leave the bride's maiden name on all paperwork, tickets, reservations, etc. until you get back. Airlines and US customs are very touchy about mismatches on documentation.

This has the potential for solving many issues with the training of a new spouse. It is much nicer than having them run out of air... a whole lot less paperwork and visits from John Stossell. You can even visit them in paradise when you decide to stop by.

Win win.

 

[sololady]

The first thing you need to understand is that Honduras law is not based on English common law. A "wedding" by a priest or pastor is a blessing not a legal event. For a wedding, the clergy does not say "by the power vested in me by the state of xxx" No such power exists in Honduras. In Honduras, and Roatan is, after all, part of Honduras, One gets married in the office of the public official sitting across his desk for him to sign the papers, not standing up and saying I DO. You won't need the witnesses in the way that you think. That said, if I am on the island in June, and I may be, I'll be happy to witness your happy event. Go for the wedding celebration, but not the legal part. It will be MUCH easier and you don't want for your wedding day to be more hassle than joy. If you decide you want an Episcopal wedding, I am good friends with the priests there on the island and I can put you in touch with them for that discussion. They are a married couple and both bilingual. He is Honduran and she is Canadian. The Episcopal church is in Brick Bay and there is a new mission in Coxen Hole. The churches in West End on the beach are: a Methodist, a Baptist, and near-by an Adventist. I'm also good friends with a evangelical pastor in Sandy Bay. Contact me off group for more if you like.